The challenging scenario for Ferrari appears to be "much worse than expected"

Ferrari is experiencing a poor start to the season, despite their hopeful expectations at the beginning. However, it appears that the team is less competitive than anticipated, and there are also internal organizational challenges. According to Italian journalist Roberto Chinchero, the situation at Scuderia Ferrari is "much worse than they had expected". In the F1 Nation podcast, he mention that the team needs to work hard to make a comeback and regain its position.

The 2023 season has been underway for a while now, with five races already completed. However, Ferrari has yet to make a significant impact in a race. On the contrary, they have only managed to secure one podium finish so far, achieved by Charles Leclerc, who finished third in Baku. The season began with hopes of contending for the world title, but it seems that Scuderia Ferrari must now primarily focus on the battle with Aston Martin and Mercedes for the second position.

Departure of key figures within Ferrari also not helping the situation

In addition to the disappointing on-track results, there are also internal challenges within the organization. Prior to the season, Frédéric Vasseur was appointed as the new team principal for Ferrari. However, due to various departures within the organization, it has been difficult for the Frenchman to build something solid. For instance, chief engineer David Sanchez left in March, and Ferrari is also losing sporting director Laurent Mekies to AlphaTauri, where he will replace Franz Tost as team principal in 2024.

Given the departure of key figures from Ferrari and the team not appearing competitive enough to contend for significant points, there has been significant criticism from domestic media in Italy. "There are high expectations for the team within the country," explains Chinchero, as quoted by PlanetF1.com. "The season started off very optimistically because the testing in Bahrain went well, but then things turned out not to be good during the actual races."

Chinchero: "Vasseur needs a little more time"

According to Chinchero, it is also problematic that the current season is constantly being compared to the 2022 season. "It is completely different, last year someone else was in charge," Chinchero explains. "Vasseur has only just joined the team, and he needs some time, but I do believe he is the right person to lift Ferrari up again. However, the departures of Sanchez and Mekies don't help. It kind of creates the impression that everyone is leaving Ferrari."

However, there is still optimism within the team, as updates will be implemented for the race weekend in Imola. The hope is that this will allow to reduce the gap with Red Bull Racing, and that the Italian racing team will take a lead over competitors Mercedes and Aston Martin. "There will also be updates to the aerodynamics, but those will only happen in Barcelona," Chinchero adds. "That race weekend will be the turning point for Ferrari, because with the prospect of bad weather in Imola, you never know what will really happen."